The Game To Never Be Forgotten
by sarahwassup
Summary: ONE SHOT! BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Everything is going great for Chad, he has the perfect girlfriend, his basketball team is undefeated, and he has the best friend a guy could ask for. But when some everyone holds close is suddenly taken from them, how wil
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**This is my first HSM fic, and it was something I thought I'd write about after listening to Fourteen by Hawk Nelson.**

**It's a true story, but I thought it would make an interesting one-shot with the High School Musical characters. You'll have to excuse any mistakes when it comes to the school stuff, I'm Australian so I'm not entirely sure how everything works.**

**And on with the story!**

**The Game to Never Be Forgotten.**

**January 5th, 2007**

_The sun goes down and then she slips away_

Chad couldn't believe this was happening. How could it have all gone wrong, just like that? He looked around at all his team mates, their parents, even the people from West High. No-one could understand how this had happened. He tried not to burst into tears thinking about earlier that evening.

He was in the locker room getting ready when he noticed Troy saying goodbye to Gabriella, not looking all that great.

"Troy man, you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just tired"

"I wonder what you and Gabriella must have been doing to make you so tired…" Chad started joking, trying to lighten up the mood.

He saw Troy crack a grin, before being told to go stick his nose in a beehive. They were joking around before being interrupted by Coach Bolton.

"Troy, you alright?"

"Yeah Coach, I've just got a headache".

_It gets so lonely after dark_

Once Coach walked away, he and Troy both stood up, ready to start stretching when all of a sudden, as if in slow motion, Chad watched his best friend collapse.

He was down by his side in an instant, frantically trying to rouse Troy.

"Troy! Troy! Can you hear me? Come on man, you've got to wake up. COACH!"

Chad watched as Jack Bolton came tearing through all of his team mates to get to his middle child. He had vaguely heard as Coach Ivers, the assistant coach, told all the boys to go into the gym. Chad gripped Troy's hand, while Jack was desperately calling for someone to get help. He had never seen his coach this way before, the panic that was in his eyes, the desperation and vulnerability in his voice.

Chad was forced to let go of Troy when a medic had finally managed to push through the crowd. Immediately the medic had started checking Troy, throwing question after question at Coach.

_If only we could relive yesterday_

He found himself forced out of the locker room, and being bombarded by questions from all of his team mates. Chad heard people talking, yet he couldn't hear anything. When he found Gabriella and Taylor, the whole gym went silent as an ambulance soared through open doors, screeching to a halt.

Chad's blood ran cold. He saw the ambulance officers grab their gear and run into the locker rooms. His team mates didn't know what was happening, no-one did. The whispers started, and grew louder and louder, before Principal Matsui took hold of the microphone and asked everyone to find a seat.

_Tomorrow always seems so far_

"As many of you know, there was an incident that occurred earlier which caused the start of tonight's game to be postponed. Troy Bolton, he, he collapsed while warming up. The medics tried for an hour, they refused to give up, but there was no hope. At 6.47pm, Troy passed away."

**11th January, 2007**

_The end is near so much is left to say_

Chad didn't remember much of the funeral, he had spent most of it grasping Taylor's hand for dear life. Earlier in the week they'd found out Troy had some heart condition that no-one knew about. Chad surveyed everyone around him. It was a mix of black, white and red, with all of his team mates wearing their jerseys under their suits. Troy's parents looked like they hadn't slept in days, his older brother was trying to be strong, consoling his grandmother, while Troy's younger sister whom he had adored, Isabella, was crying.

_The world is getting cold tonight_

Chad felt his heart break watching Isabella, she had only had the chance to spend seven years with Troy, she would never know how much he had cared about her, or how proud he was to call her his little sister. Chad finally set his eyes on Gabriella. She looked a mess, like she hadn't slept in days. As he set eyes on Troy's coffin, he broke down into tears.

**15th May, 2007**

It had been four months since Troy had died, and Coach Bolton had just recently started coming back to school; he couldn't bare the thought of seeing where his son had died every day.

_Traumatized people are so afraid_

As he looked around at his team mates, Chad couldn't help but smile. It had been tough, a lot of the guys had lost interest, no longer wanting to play because of what happened to Troy, but they'd all made it. Tonight was the game that Troy should have been captaining, not him. It was the league championship game, against West High. Chad knew that no-one thought they were going to win, they hadn't beaten West High all year. The team was quiet while they warmed up, all sporting a black arm band with 14 on it.

As the Wildcats ran into the gym, the crowd went wild. They did a lap around the court in honour of Troy, before finally lining up opposite the Knights. Tonight Troy's jersey was going to be retired, never to be worn at East High again. Principal Matsui presented Coach Bolton with Troy's framed white jersey, his red jersey to be framed and hung in the school office.

The game had entered the last period and Chad was starting to get frustrated. They were leading 53 – 51, but things were starting to get really dirty. His team was getting injured left, right, and center. As the game neared the last thirty seconds, Chad could hear his heart beat in his ears, and then something happened to make his stomach drop.

The West High captain had stolen the ball. Chad started chasing frantically after him, but he knew the other guy was faster. He kept chasing, not giving up, when he could have sworn he heard Troy's voice yelling at him, telling him not to give up, that he believed in him, and that he missed him. Before he even realized, Chad found himself face to face with the West High captain. Chad looked at him, and realized the play he was about to try. It was Troy's play. Chad took his chance to grab the ball and ran to the other end of the court, hearing the "swish" of the ball go through the net.

_I smile cause everything's alright_

The final buzzer sounded and the gym went nuts. They'd done it! They'd won! They were the miracle team, the underdogs, and they'd shown the world what they had.

As they did a victory lap of the gym with their brand new trophy, they carried a picture of Troy. Coach Bolton and his family had tears running down their face. They knew those boys loved their son, and that their victory was for him.

Looking back at that day, Chad new that Troy had been there, laughing, and cheering them all on, just like he always had. He missed Troy a lot, it didn't seem fair that he'd been taken away from everyone who loved him when he was so young. And even though Chad knew he was watching over him, over all of them, he couldn't wait to get the chance to see him again.

**A/N: Okay well that's it. The end was sorta crappy, but oh well, it is a true story, except it was a rugby league team, not a basketball team, and the boy who died was 12, not 17. Reviews would be appreciated, but please no flames. I wasn't quite sure how to go about writing this story. I just wanted to. R.I.P. man, may you be loving your time with the Man above, and until I see you again, forever loving xox.**


	2. Authors Note

**Hey guys! I was thinking of maybe doing another one off of what happened to Chad and everyone else after they won. I have a couple of ideas floating around. Anyway, reviews would be greatly appreciated, and I'd just like to quickly pay my respects to a fellow author, Phantom-Lover984, who was in the process of writing I Trust You, when she was killed in a car accident. May she Rest In Peace.**

**phatbeachbum78**


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